- Minerals placed into categories same way plants and animals are categorized by biologists.
- Minerals assigned to mineral class
- Mineral classes are divided into groups or subclasses based on similarities in atomic structures or compositions
- Minerals divided into mineral varieties
Major Mineral Classes
Silicates- accounts for more tthan 90 percent of the earth's crust
-all have same fundamental building block
-silicon oxygen tetrahedron
Nonsilicates- provide us with the iron and aluminum to build technology
Light Silicates
-generally light in color and have a specific gravity of 2.7 which is less than the dark silicates
- because of presence and absence of magnesium
-
- Minerals placed into categories same way plants and animals are categorized by biologists.
- Minerals assigned to mineral class
- Mineral classes are divided into groups or subclasses based on similarities in atomic structures or compositions
- Minerals divided into mineral varieties
Major Mineral Classes
Silicates- accounts for more tthan 90 percent of the earth's crust
-all have same fundamental building block
-silicon oxygen tetrahedron
Nonsilicates- provide us with the iron and aluminum to build technology
Light Silicates
-generally light in color and have a specific gravity of 2.7 which is less than the dark silicates
- because of presence and absence of magnesium
-